UMaine News

Cooperative Extension

An article on the eHow.com website, based in Washington state, about the pros and cons of raking leaves in the fall cited advice from University of Maine Cooperative Extension educator Barbara Murphy. Murphy said allowing leaves to compost in place on lawns is a matter of personal preference and that decomposing leaves don’t really contribute […]

Contact: Kathy Hopkins, (207) 474-9622 SKOWHEGAN — As temperatures warm and winter transitions into spring, the sap will be running in sugar maples soon and harvesters will begin the annual and welcome ritual preparing for another good syrup season. Kathy Hopkins, a University of Maine Cooperative Extension educator and maple syrup expert, is available to […]

Contact: Kate Yerxa, (207) 581-3109 or kate.yerxa@maine.edu ORONO — With area school vacations starting next week, some parents and guardians may be wondering how to keep kids engaged and active during the time off. Kate Yerxa, University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s statewide educator for nutrition and physical activity, is available to discuss some tips. Family […]

Contact: Kristy Ouellette, 207-353-5550 Ext. 12 or 1-800-287-1458 in Maine LISBON FALLS — The University of Maine Cooperative Extension 4-H has announced partnership with New Mexico State Learning Labs in offering the new mobile-application math mini-game “Lobster Diver.” Originally created for students in grades 6-8, but fun for youth of all ages, the game is […]

Contact: Pamela St. Peter, 207-933-2100, Ext. 100 The University of Maine Cooperative Extension is accepting registrations for two daylong sessions on vegetable and fruit growing March 15 in Portland and March 16 in Bangor. The pre-registration deadline is March 1. The cost is $30 and includes lunch. Information, including registration, times and locations, and more […]

UMaine Cooperative Extension’s Maine Harvest for Hunger program will be a beneficiary of a $30,000 grant awarded to the Oxford Hills School District, according to a story in the Lewiston Sun Journal. The Maine Commission for Community Service awarded the grant to the school which will create a vegetable garden at the Roberts Farm Preserve. […]

The Lewiston Sun Journal reports UMaine’s 4-H Camp and Learning Center in Bryant Pond has received an anonymous $69,000 donation that will be used to build nine new bunkhouses over the next few years. Oxford County Cooperative Extension Educator Susan Jennings said most of the bunkhouses will be built by students in the building trade […]

Contact: Kathy Hopkins (207) 474-9622 (Skowhegan), Donna Coffin, (207) 564-3301 (Dover Foxcroft) ORONO — Warm days and cold nights this time of the year can wreak havoc on roofs, when ice dams form around the edge causing rooftop meltwater to back up and leak into attics or down interior walls. Two University of Maine Cooperative […]

The Bangor Daily News carried a column by Kate Yerxa, nutrition educator at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, about community supported agricultural farm share opportunities. She explains that winter is the time to begin researching farms that sell shares to the community and how to determine which produce options make sense for families.